GOLDEN, CO – APRIL 28: A cyclist rides his bike up Lookout Mtn Rd in Golden, Colorado on April 28, 2014. Jeffco Open Space and Clear Creek County Open Space have partnered to build a 6-mile segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail along Clear Creek and US Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon.

The road for nonmotorized traffic from Denver International Airport to the Continental Divide runs through Jefferson County.

Or at least that is the intent of two trail projects in the works.

Crews broke ground in January on the $13.8 million Clear Creek Canyon segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail. The trail is projected to connect the Continental Divide at the Eisenhower Tunnel to the confluence of Clear Creek and the South Platte River in Adams County.

The Clear Creek Canyon segment is a collaborative effort of Jefferson County and Clear Creek County open space organizations and will be a wide, paved path along the creek, beginning just east of Tunnel 6 in the canyon and ending just past the Mayhem Gulch Trailhead of Centennial Cone Park near Mile Marker 262.5. It will veer away from U.S. 6 along the creek and cross the creek or road at four bridges and three underpasses.

“It’s the first time we’ve come together for a project that provides recreation opportunities to everybody that comes into the canyon,” Thea Rock, communications manager for Jeffco Open Space, said of the collaboration.

The two counties are embarking on the project with the help of $4.6 million from Great Outdoors Colorado and financial contributions from the Gates Family Foundation and a number of area agencies, including the cities of Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada and Golden, Team Evergreen bicycle advocacy group, and Apex and Prospect park and recreation districts.

“It will be a magnificent trail,” Bike Jeffco chair Dave Evans said. He added, however, that the longterm project in the narrow canyon has challenges — including safety, environmental obstacles and a ballooning budget.

The 6-mile segment, while relatively short, will add key access to a canyon currently closed to bicyclists because of the tunnels that U.S. 6 passes through on the way to Idaho Springs. It also will add access points to the river and parking at Mayhem Trailhead.

“The Peaks to Plains project came along as a perfect venue for us to get bikes up there without necessarily worrying about the dangers of the narrow roadway,” said Peter Morales, president of Team Evergreen.

Though less scenic, the bike path linking Evergreen Parkway and Genesee exits along Interstate 70 is another project officials say is closer to a reality.

The path would be the last link allowing cyclists to use trails or frontage roads to travel from Denver to Glenwood Springs.

Bob Wilson, communications manager for Colorado Department of Transportation, said Jefferson County has committed $120,000 toward the project, CDOT has secured $700,000 in FASTER funds and the project will go before the CDOT Transportation Commission in June for remaining funds for the $1.4 million project.

The path has been years in the planning among Team Evergreen, Bike Jeffco, Denver Mountain Parks — which owns some of the land — and CDOT.

Josie Klemaier is part of the YourHub team as a reporter and page designer. She covers community news in Golden, Evergreen, Conifer and Morrison, as well as issues related to craft beer, the outdoors, history and culture. Klemaier studied journalism at Metropolitan State College of Denver and lives in the foothills in Jefferson County.

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